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Test confirms iPhone 4 suffers ‘connectivity problems’

by Sarah Griffiths on 30 July 2010, 16:54

Tags: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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Testing times for Apple

Yet another test has concluded that ‘death grip' is ‘unique' to Apple's iPhone 4, which has ‘connectivity problems' compared with other smartphones.

International technology consultancy PA Consulting Group pitted Apple's new handset against other smartphones in tests and said the iPhone 4's overall reception performance is ‘in range' but at the lower end. 

Apple has been plagued by negative reviews since ‘antenna gate,' the most notable being a report by Consumer Reports, America's answer to Which? that said it was unable to recommend the phone because of hardware problems. 

PA Consulting Group's tests found the iPhone 4's performance was in the same range as other smartphones tested for the majority of the time. However, compared with a BlackBerry 9700 and HTC HD2, it said Apple's smartphone was ‘consistently at the lower end of the range'. 

It also said when used in ‘death grip' the iPhone 4's performance was ‘significantly worse than other smartphones,' in line with other users' complaints. A testing video is available here.

Simon Tonks, the consultant who led the testing at PA's Cambridge Technology Centre said: "Our tests indicate that the 'death grip' issue is real and is worse for the Apple iPhone 4 than for other smartphones. The iPhone 4's radio performance was also found to be generally at the lower end. This means it will tend to drop calls earlier than other phones and may suffer more in areas of weak signal. Though, overall it's still within the normal performance range for similar products."

Dr Phil White, head of the wireless technology team at PA added: "Consumers always prefer products that look and feel good. And we all benefit from the way companies like Apple are prepared to take risks and push the boundaries of product design. But that means striking a balance between incorporating the most innovative features and ensuring the product works effectively. The trick lies in finding the right trade-off. The question is whether consumers are prepared to put up with occasional performance flaws given the additional benefits more innovative products provide." 

These latest test results come after Jobs initially argued iPhone 4 users were holding their phones wrong, and then said other phone brands have similar antenna problems at the emergency Apple press conference, which his competitors immediately disputed



HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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:lol: nice one apple.
Steve Jobs: *sticks fingers in ears* lalalalalalalalala THERE IS NO ANTENNA PROBLEM!!!
aidanjt
Steve Jobs: *sticks fingers in ears* lalalalalalalalala THERE IS NO ANTENNA PROBLEM!!!

lol :)
aidanjt
Steve Jobs: *sticks fingers in ears* lalalalalalalalala THERE IS NO ANTENNA PROBLEM!!!
Even though every smartphone has this problem, and we putting a condom on your iPhone will prevent the problem (that doesn't exist) from showing itself…..

Round and round we go :)
So, further confirmation that bears do indeed ‘diddle’ in the woods.